Looking to make a late playoff push, the team battled at home against Clarksburg on Jan. 29. It was a close battle throughout, as the Patriots were only down by two heading into the fourth quarter. However, they were unable to outscore the Coyotes in the fourth quarter, and ended up losing 55-50. As usual, senior Zoey Goldberg led the offensive attack with 20 points. Senior Aliya Rahman had 12 points, and Katie Gillick had nine points, six assists, and six rebounds. Sophomore Sivan Bennain was a beast on the boards, grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds.

The team played at Quince Orchard on Jan. 31. Overall the team played well, scoring double digit points in all four quarters, with the final score 55-50. On the offensive side of the ball, the team was once again led by Goldberg who scored 26 points and Gillick had 11 points and seven rebounds. In addition, junior Crystal Bridge had 10 rebounds and seven points and Bennaim had 13 rebounds and six points. “The entire team played really well, having seniors who can consistently play well definitely helps us,” junior Mary Quackenbush said.

Following the win over Quince Orchard, the team went on to play at Albert Einstein on Feb. 2. Like the Quince Orchard game, the team dominated, winning the game 77-49. Goldberg hit a huge milestone as she scored her 1,000th high school point. She had 17 points while senior Taylor Meade had 16 points, a career high for her. She also had four assists, four rebounds and four steals and Gillick had 11 points six rebounds and five steals. “Scoring 1,000 points has been one of the highlights of my career. Coach Dyer and my teammates put me in a position to be successful and this milestone is evidence of that,” Goldberg said.

After the win against Albert Einstein, the team played at Rockville on Feb. 7. The team struggled to handle the ball as they had turnover problems all game. Despite the 10 point loss, Goldberg had a good scoring day with 19 points. Bennaim had 15 rebounds while Bridge had 10 of her own. The final score was 41-31 Rockville. “We certainly didn’t play our best game of the year but the silver lining is that we know what we need to fix so that we don’t play like this again,” Gillick said.

Two days after the Rockville game the team traveled to play Walter Johnson. The team battled the entire game but lost in the end, 52-44. Gillick shot 15/20 from the free throw line while Bridge snagged 23 rebounds. “It sucked that we played so well and still lost but the other team played really well too. Usually when we play like this we will get the result we’re looking for,” Goldberg said.

On Feb. 13 the team took on Northwood at home. This was the first time they played at home in two weeks. From start to finish the Patriots were dominant as they ended up winning by a margin of 41 points. Gillick had 17 points, six rebounds and five steals, Bridge had 14 points and 12 rebounds in addition to six assists and five steals.

The team’s next game is in the first round of the playoffs. The game date and location have not been determined yet.

Sam Greene

Senior Sports Editor